When the dust cleared, Veronica''s jaw dropped at the sight of the aftermath. Almost everyone was either pinned down by the icicles or frozen on the ground—both literally and physically. Only a few were still standing, with one of them unfortunately being the leader of the invaders, who looked up at the newcomer with contempt.


    This is crazy. I''ve seen a lot of amazing displays of magic, but this is the first time I''ve seen something so incredible.


    Veronica stared up at the witch with a mixture of awe and fear.


    Who was she? Where did she come from? Why hadn''t she been at the witching hour party earlier?


    Her mind swirled with questions, but she didn''t get a chance to voice them as the insanely strong little girl from before said, "Master, what are you doing here? You didn''t need to interfere."


    The newcomer didn''t say a word. She simply stared blankly down at them without a speck of emotion on her face.


    What was going through the witch''s mind right now?


    It was impossible for Veronica to tell what the newcomer was thinking.


    "How dare you get in my way? Who are you?" the leader of the invaders suddenly demanded, swinging his arm in front of himself.


    This got a reaction from the new witch, but it wasn''t a reaction any of them expected. "A mutt should learn to keep its mouth shut. I was being lenient as not to seriously hurt or damage this place, but if you keep insisting on barking, I won''t hesitate to permanently silence you."


    This is being lenient?


    Looking around at her surroundings, Veronica couldn''t imagine what it would really look like if the newcomer decided to get serious.


    Would any of them be able to make it out in one piece?


    "Shut up," the leader of the invaders roared as he summoned a large fireball, which hurled itself at the witch above them.


    The fireball didn''t get a chance to even touch her as it suddenly turned into a ball of ice. The large ball of ice glittered in the moonlight as it hanged above them like a second moon. Veronica''s jaw dropped.


    Without even having to peek at everyone else''s reaction, she was sure they were just as stunned as her.


    "I warned you," the witch said.


    The huge ball of ice abruptly dropped down at break taking speed towards the leader of the invaders. Veronica immediately closed her eyes and shielded her baby sister from the sight. There was a scream of outrage followed by a sickening, wet crunch. She didn''t dare to open her eyes and pressed her baby sister close to her chest.


    "You''re going to suffocate the baby if you keep holding her like that," a voice said in her ear.


    She jolted and opened her eyes to check on her baby sister. When she saw that her baby sister was fine, she breathed a sigh of relief. Veronica refused to lift her head, afraid of what she might see, but even from the corner of her eyes, she could see the giant ball of ice with mysterious red spots.


    "Oh?" The tone in the newcomer''s voice drew Veronica''s attention, her eyes darting up at the witch. "This is unexpected. You''re a lot more durable than expected."


    Before Veronica could figure out what she meant, the ball of ice exploded. Pieces of ice blasted through the air, with some hitting some of the people. Fortunately, none of them struck Veronica or her baby sister, and they simply landed around them, kicking up some dust. Veronica raised an arm and coughed into it as the dust got into her face. Something jumped out of the dust where the giant ball of ice had been.


    "Don''t act so cocky, you witch," the leader of the invaders snarled as he launched a barrage of fireballs.


    Unfortunately for him, his attack was nothing in the face of the newcomer.


    In a bat of an eye, he swatted aside like a fly, and the fireballs that had been summoned dispersed into the wind. No one dared to say a word or make a move as they watched the crumpled form of the leader of the invaders crawl across the ground like a worm.


    "This can''t be. How could I lose to some witch?" he muttered to himself, loud enough for everyone to hear.


    The newcomer snapped her fingers. Even though Veronica couldn''t see what the witch had done, she had a feeling she knew what happened considering how frantically the leader of the invaders was clawing at his face.


    "I thought I told you to be silent," the newcomer said before turning her attention to the little girl.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    The little girl jerked at the sudden attention and stammered, "S-sorry, master. I made a mistake."


    "Who told you to come here and reveal yourself?"


    "I—"


    "Don''t you think you''re being a bit mean to your daughter?" a familiar voice asked.


    Veronica''s eyes widened at the sight of the clown from before appearing right behind the newcomer.


    It''s him. How did he get there?


    She hadn''t expected to see him again so soon, especially right behind the newcomer. In fact, she couldn''t figure out how he was doing that. There was nothing behind the newcomer for him to stand on. It was just open air unless he was standing on her broomstick, but the position seemed off. Veronica honestly couldn''t tell from her spot on the ground. Maybe she was mistaken, but that wasn''t important at the moment.


    The newcomer didn''t bat an eye as she asked, "What are you doing?"


    "I''m just reporting in," the clown said, waving his arms around theatrically. "I''ve completed my mission."


    "If that''s all, then you''re wasting my time."


    "Your words hurt me."


    Watching the two banter felt ridiculous.


    Not too long ago, there had been a serious battle playing out. Now it was as if it had never happened to begin with except for the remaining evidence still surrounding them.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    At that moment, the newcomer''s eyes fell onto Veronica, who flinched.


    Is she looking at me? No, I have to be mistaken. She must be looking at someone else.


    Despite her best efforts to convince herself that the witch wasn''t really looking at her, she couldn''t shake the feeling that the witch''s eyes were directed towards her. There was nothing else the witch could be looking at. The only people in the direction the newcomer was looking at were herself, her baby sister, Echo, and the mouse. Even if the newcomer had sharp eyes, Veronica highly doubted she would be interested in a mouse or Echo.


    Was the witch perhaps looking at something and not someone?


    Veronica glanced at her surroundings, but all she could see were the chunks of ice nearby and the disheveled appearance of the room. When she focused her attention back to where the newcomer was, Veronica nearly jumped out of her skin.


    Why did she get in front of me?


    The witch ignored her shock and stared directly into Veronica''s eyes as she invaded Veronica''s personal space. With no place to go and not wanting to antagonize such a powerful witch, Veronica remained rooted in place while the witch kept eyeing her with an emotionless expression. Out of the corner of her eye, Veronica noticed everyone else watching them with a curious expression.


    The first to break the awkward silence was the little girl who trotted over to them. "Master, what are you doing? Why are you staring at that girl?"


    That''s what I want to know!


    After several moments of silence, the witch finally said, "Curious."


    What was curious?


    She really wanted to ask, but she was too afraid of accidentally annoying the witch. All she could do was wait and see if the witch would explain anything.


    "Oh?" the clown said as he popped up from behind the newcomer again. "You''re interested in her too. She is a curious thing."


    Veronica wasn''t sure whether that was supposed to be a compliment or insult.


    "You." Veronica immediately turned her attention back to the witch in front of her. "What''s your name?"


    She hesitated before saying, "It''s Veronica."


    There was no reaction from the witch, and Veronica fidgeted beneath the intense stare.


    "I think you''re scaring her," the clown whispered conspiratively.


    You''re not helping.


    Then the newcomer''s gaze turned downward to her baby sister. Something shifted in her eyes, leaving Veronica even more anxious. She wasn''t sure what the emotion was in the witch''s eyes, but it didn''t sit right with her as she discretely shielded her baby sister from view. Well, it wasn''t truly possible to move without notice, and the clown smiled amusingly at her.


    "Don''t worry. We''re not going to eat her," the clown said.


    At the same time, the witch said, "I want her."


    The clown froze, his head slowly turning towards the witch. "What was that?"


    He wasn''t the only one confused by the witch''s statement, as everyone stared at her like she had grown another head.


    Out of all the things she could have said, none of them could have expected the newcomer to ask for a human baby. It would have been one thing if the baby was a witch, but even then it would be odd. Veronica couldn''t help but think that the newcomer had bad intentions toward her baby sister. While she was grateful she helped them and was intimidated by the other witch, she couldn''t hand her baby sister like it was nothing.


    Keeping her baby sister close to her chest, Veronica said, "Don''t touch her."


    "Don''t talk to her like that," one of the witches snapped. "She just saved us."


    "It''s just a human baby. You don''t have to be so defensive," another one said.


    Veronica scowled, trying to locate the ones speaking.


    However, the newcomer''s next words stopped Veronica dead in her tracks. "I want you too."


    I don''t get it. What does she want with me and my baby sister? We weren''t even participating in the fight. We just stayed in the corner the entire time. She isn''t going to punish us, is she?


    Unfortunately, the newcomer wasn''t more forthgoing and was impossible to read.


    Seeing that she couldn''t get anywhere with the witch, Veronica glanced at the clown. Any hope she might find a clue from the clown was dashed away as he stared at the newcomer oddly.


    "What are you thinking?" he asked.


    The newcomer didn''t say a word. The tense atmosphere was interrupted by the sound of running footsteps. All eyes turned to the doorway just as Leta burst through.


    "You''re going to pay for that. Do you want a piece of—" Leta stared, studying her surroundings, before blurting out, "What happened?"


    The sight of Leta being okay brought tears to Veronica''s eyes.


    She had been worried about Leta, but with everything that had been happening, she couldn''t even spare her a second thought. Now that the fight was over, she could fret over her friend.


    As if sensing her thoughts, Leta glanced in Veronica''s direction. Despite Veronica being on the other side of the room and with several people blocking her from view, Leta seemed to have spotted her and narrowed her eyes. Leta stormed towards them with a dark look on her face, clutching her broomstick in front of herself. She didn''t get very far as several witches rushed over to stop her, probably picking up on the fact that Leta intended to pick a fight.


    "What are you doing? Let go!" Leta demanded.


    "Don''t pick a fight with her," one of the witches said as they struggled against Leta.


    "She saved us," another said.


    The group of witches squabbled, but the newcomer didn''t pay them any mind. The clown and little girl took a few moments to watch what was happening before turning their attention back to Veronica.


    "As amusing as this is, are you sure you want to take them?" the clown asked.


    Without hesitation, the witch said, "I''m sure."